UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational health insurance and services company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealthcare, and health care services and care delivery aided by technology and data under Optum, it is the world's eleventh-largest company by revenue and the largest health care company by revenue.
"UnitedHealthcare" redirects here. For the cycling teams, see UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling.Company type
1977
Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States
Worldwide
- Stephen J. Hemsley
(Chair) - Andrew Witty
(CEO) - John Rex
(President, CFO)
US$371.6 billion (2023)
US$32.36 billion (2023)
US$23.14 billion (2023)
US$273.7 billion (2023)
US$94.42 billion (2023)
c. 440,000 (2023)
The company is ranked 10th on the 2023 Fortune Global 500. UnitedHealth Group had a market capitalization of $477.4 billion as of August 7, 2023.
History[edit]
1970s-1990s[edit]
UnitedHealth Group has origins dating back to late 1974 with the founding of Minnesota-based Charter Med Incorporated by Richard Taylor Burke. It originally processed claims for doctors at the Hennepin County Medical Society.[4] United HealthCare Corporation was founded in 1977 to purchase Charter Med and create a network-based health plan for seniors.[5] It became a publicly traded company in 1984 and changed its name to UnitedHealth Group in 1998.[6]
In 1988, United HealthCare started its first pharmacy benefit management, through its Diversified Pharmaceutical Services subsidiary. It managed pharmacy benefits delivered both through retail pharmacies and mail. The subsidiary was sold to SmithKline Beecham in 1994 for $2.3 billion.[7]
In 1994, United HealthCare acquired Ramsey-HMO, a Florida insurer.[8] In 1995, the company acquired The MetraHealth Companies Inc. for $1.65 billion. MetraHealth was a privately held company formed by combining the group healthcare operations of The Travelers Companies and MetLife. In 1996, United HealthCare acquired HealthWise of America, which operated HMOs in Arkansas, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee.[9]
In 1998, the company was reorganized as the holding of independent companies UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, Uniprise, Specialized Care Services and Ingenix, and rebranded as "UnitedHealth Group". Also in 1998, United Health Group acquired HealthPartners of Arizona, operator of Arizona's largest AHCCCS provider.[10]
2000s[edit]
In 2001, EverCare, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, merged with LifeMark Health Plans[11] In 2002, UnitedHealth Group acquired GeoAccess and Medicaid insurance company AmeriChoice.[12] In 2003, UnitedHealth Group acquired Mid Atlantic Medical Services, an insurer serving Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Delaware and West Virginia.[13] Also in 2003, UnitedHealth Group acquired Golden Rule Financial, a provider of health savings accounts.[14] On July 21, 2003, Exante Bank started operating in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a Utah state-chartered industrial loan corporation. It changed its name to OptumHealth Bank in 2008[15] and to Optum Bank in 2012.
In April 2004, UnitedHealth Group acquired Touchpoint Health Plan, a Wisconsin health plan.[16] In July 2004, the company acquired Oxford Health Plans.[17]
In December 2005, the company acquired PacifiCare Health Systems.[18] It agreed to divest parts of PacifiCare's commercial health insurance business in Tucson, Arizona and Boulder, Colorado to satisfy antitrust regulator concerns, and also agreed to end its network access agreement with Blue Shield of California. The Tucson business was sold to Cigna.[19] The company acquired Prescription Solutions, another pharmacy benefits manager, as part of its acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems.[20] This business was later rebranded OptumRx.
In February 2006, the company acquired John Deere Health Care.[21][22][23] The same year, William W. McGuire stepped down as chairman and director due to his involvement in the employee stock options scandal.[24] He was replaced by CEO Stephen Hemsley who had served as president and COO and a member of the board of directors. McGuire's exit compensation from UnitedHealth was anticipated to be $1.1 billion,[25] but he only received $618 million after returning $420 million in stock options.[26]
In February 2008, the company acquired Sierra Health Services for $2.6 billion.[27] As part of the transaction, to obtain regulatory approval, 25,000 customers were sold to Humana.[28] In July 2009, UnitedHealth Group agreed to acquire Health Net's Northeast licensed subsidiaries for up to $570 million in payments spread out over two years.[29]
2010s[edit]
Through 2010 and into 2011, senior executives of the company met monthly with executives of other health insurers to limit the effect of the health care reform law.[30]
In July 2010, Ingenix acquired Picis Clinical Solutions, Inc., a health information provider for the high-acuity areas of hospitals.[31][32]
Foundations[edit]
Foundations affiliated with UnitedHealth Group include the United Health Foundation (UHF) and the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation (UHCCF), both of which were established in 1999.[123]
UHF pledged $100 million over ten years to fund scholarships and workforce development programs focused on increasing ethnic and racial diversity within the health care industry.[124]
UHCCF administers grants to help pay for medical costs for families with coverage gaps. According to UHCCF, the foundation raises money for medical grants by selling gift items such as backpacks, books, cards, and games, some of which are created by children.[125]
UHF's investment will support 10,000 physicians from unrepresented communities: 5,000 students with a primary care focus and 5,000 physicians advancing in mental health, nursing, midwifery, medicine. The work of this fund is part of a global initiative in which UnitedHealth Group has teamed up with nine organizations to provide scholarships to more than 3,000 international students through the Diverse Scholars Initiative.[126]
